Seal



Dec. 2, 1941. w. slEGERlsT ---llx Patented Dec. 2, 1941 mica, jf

SEAL

walter siegerist, st'. Louis, Mo. Application December 21, 1939, Serial No. 310,285

5 Claims.

This invention relates to devices for preventing the escape of oil or grease from bearings. 'Ihe principal objects of the present invention are to devise a seal of simple and inexpensive 'construction which will seal the bearing housing and the shaft, which will be easy to install and.

remove, which will require but little space and be eicient in operation, which will provide for the taking up of wear in the seal, and which will reduce the necessity for accurate machining of the closure parts. The invention consists in the sealing device and in the parts and combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts Wherever they occur,

Fig.` 1 is a longitudinal sectional View of a sealing ring emboding my invention and a bearing interposed between a housing and a shaft.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a modified form of sealing ring,

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 of another modified form of sealing ring.

Fig. 4 is a view similarto Fig. 2 of another modified form of sealing ring.

In the construction illustated in the drawing, a bearing seal, indicated generally by S, is shown as applied to a roller bearing construction having -a taper roller bearing I interposed between a rotary shaft 2 and a housing 3. However, the seal may be applied to constructions having other types of bearings.

In the construction illustrated in Fig. 1, the housing 3 has an end wall 4 having its lower edge preferably rounded. A projecting annular flange 5 at the end of the housing forms a pocket 6 which is adapted to receive the seal S, said pocket having a greater diameter and width than the, outside` seal.

diameter and vthe widthv of said The sealing'device .Si comprises a flaring sealing ringLor sleeve. l of 4suitablewelastic material y whichv overlaps aportion of 'a IrustO-:conicalzsupporting;` ring-8, of steel-or other suitable :ma-'i terial. Whilel vthis vsupporting ringis preferably solid, it'mayzbe'iperforated or slotted if desired.`

The-overlappingportionI 9 of the sealingsleevef is vulcanized or` cemented to the -supl'oortingringw at llL-adjacentto the peripheral,portion ofthe sealingl sleeve and also,I adjacent tothe central;A opening of the supportingy ring;A .1If.,desir-ab1e-,the

entire overlappingV portion-of the `sealing-,sleeve may :be-cementedbr vulcanizedtofthe support-fA ing ring. The outside diameter of the supportmemberhavinga lcentral Af.0penir1a-off smaller..

the sealing sleeve, andthe outside diameterof the sealing member is slightly larger than the diameter of the central opening of the supporting ring. The sealing sleeve has a central opening whose diameter is the same as or, preferably, slightly less than the diameter of the shaft which extends therethrough and the central opening of the supporting member has a vlarger diameter than the shaft.

The sealing sleeve 'l of the seal extends from the supporting ring over the edge of the end wall and into the hollow of said end wall. The supporting ring 8 ofthe seal is positioned in the pocket and is retained therein by a collar Il or other suitable holding means secured to the housing ange 5 by screws l2, said collar having an inturned flange I3 adapted to contact the inside of the supporting ring 8 and thereby hold the seal within the pocket. 'I'he seal is positioned by the engagement of the sealing sleeve with the shaft and the edge of the endwall of the housing and by the engagement of the collar flange with the supporting ring.

The preferred material for the elastic sealing member is a treated rubber or a syntheic rubber such as those known under the commercial names of Neoprene and Thiokol or. a suitable plastic, such as Lucite. These materials are elastic and resistant to the heat to which oil seals are ordinarily exposed in service,

and they maintain their exibility-and elasticity throughout the range of temperatures occurring in service. Obviously, the seal may be split and spliced f to obtain the same effect as obtained with continuous rings.- This is necessary to placethew. seal on the insidefof a-bearing'fwithout :removing the bearing fromtheshaft.,7 f. The operation of amy'devfice-is'asg'follows. y. he i sealS ,is mounted-onthe-shaft2--witlr'thesup'- C porting ring 8l of the seal disposed .in1=thefpocket vI5 of the housing, 3V and the sealing-sleeve .ibex-"- tending ,beneathv "thesend wallgaof f the housing.; Theinturned flangev l.3,on theficollarfl hpresses i against lthe insdefof. the supporting Arin -:ffte Signing the-'seal-f-@By reason:ofetheelastia sealing 'ameter v than .thezshaftgthefelasticityaottheisea ing :member maintainsslose;fcontaetqwith the. shaft and ,prevents 1hey esca oilfor-grea'se frommthebearing- `he..fshal thereby elle tiveliosealedwitha immun-.fof rubbingpressurey on the 4sealiri'lg'sleeve l. In addition to the seal- .ping the supporting ring 8 presses against the end wall 4 of the housing thereby forming a seal. Increased pressure on the supporting ring 8 moving the collar toward the end wall of the housing has the ldouble effect of tightening the seal against the housing and of taking up wear in the sealing sleeve adjacent' to the shaft. vThe shape of the seal makes it possible to take up a great amount of wear without the necessity of replacing the seal. Further, considerable pressure can be exerted against the housing to maintain an effective seal at the point of contact.

-In the modication shown in Fig. 2, the seal comprises a double walled supporting ring Ba. The outer portion 9a of the sealing sleeve 1a which is similar to that described above isheld between the walls I4 of the supporting ring 8a. The outer portion 9a of the sealing sleevel 11a is cemented or vulcanized to the inner sides of the walls I4. This seal operates in a manner similar toA that heretofore described, except that the end wall 4 of the housing is sealed by a wall I4 of the supporting ring rathergthan by the outer portion of the sealing sleeve.

In the modification shown in Fig. 3, the seal comprises a supporting ring 8b as in Fig. 1. Partially overlapping said supporting ring and cemented or vulcanized thereto, is a aring bifurcated elastic sealing ring or sleeve 1b having divergent sleeve portions extending along the shaft. One of the sleeves I extends beneath the end Wall 4 of the housing and serves principally to retain the oil o`r grease. The other sleeve I i5 extends outwardly from the end wall of the housing and serves principally to exclude dirt and foreign matter from the bearing. The upper portion of the sealing ,sleeve Ib presses against the end wall of the housing to formV a seal for the housing.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4, the supporting ring 8c and aring sealing sleeve Icare, in general, similar to those shown in Fig. 1, except that the outside diameter of the sealing sleeve 1c is greater than the sealing sleeve 'I shown in Fig. l. In this modification, the seal#- ing sleeve Ic is cemented or vulcanized to the inside of the supporting ring 8c and overlaps the entire face of the supporting ring. The seal is mounted with the inside of the supporting ring facing the end wall of the housing 4 and the sealing member extending outwardly from the end wall of the housing. e flange I3c on the collar llc or other means used to position the seal presses against the outside of the supporting ring. The housing is sealed by the outer periphery of the sealing sleeve 1c pressing against the end wall 4 of the housing.

Obviously, other modifications may be made and I do not wish to be limited to the precise constructions shown.

What I claim is:

1. The combination of a shaft, a housing having an end Wall whose inner periphery is spaced from said shaft to form an annular opening, a flange projecting longitudinally beyond said end wall to form with the outer face of said wall an annular pocket relatively wide radially and relatively narrow axially that communicates with said annular opening, a washer relatively wide radially and relatively thin axially, said washer being disposed .in said pocket at a small angle with respect vto the outer face of said wall, a sealing member of resilient material havinglone end surrounding said shaft within said annular opening and the other end thereof extending into said end pocket and being secured to said washer, and securing means on said housing en gaging the outer face of said washer near the outer periphery thereof, said sealing member contacting said end wall adjacent to said opening and said sealing member and said washer being rockable thereagainst.

2. The combination of a shaft, a housing hav-v ing Ia'n end wall whose inner periphery is spaced from said shaft to form an annular opening, a ange projecting longitudinally beyond said end wall to form with the outer .face of said wall an annular pocket relatively wide radially and relatively narrow axially th'at communicates with said annular opening, a dished washer relatively Wide radially and relatively thin axially, said washer being disposed in said pocket at a small angle with respect to the outer face of said wall. a sealing member of resilient material having a sealing sleeve portion surrounding said shaft within said annular opening and a flaring mouth portion, the outer part of said flaring portion extending into said end pocket and being secured ber contacting said end wall adjacent to said opening and said sealing member and said washer being rockable thereagainst.

3. The combination of a shaft, a housing having an end wall whose inner periphery is spaced from said shaft to form an annular opening, the portion of said end wall defining the outer end of said opening being rounded, a nange projecting longitudinally beyond said end wall to form with the outer face of said end wall an annular pocket relatively wide radially and relatively narrow axially that communicates with said annular opening, a frusto-conical washer relatively wide radially and relatively thin axially, said washer being disposed in said pocket at a small angle with respect to the outer face of said wall,

a sealing member of resilient material having a sealing sleeve portion surrounding said shaft within4 said annular opening and a flaring mouth portion, the outer part of said flaring portion extending into said end pocket and being secured to said washer, and a retaining ring engaging the outer face of said washer near the l outer periphery thereof, said sealing member contacting said end wall adjacent to said rounded portion and said sealing member and said washer being rockable thereagainst.

4. 'Ihe combination of a shaft. a housing having an end wall forming an opening between the bottom of said end wall and said shaft, an annular flange defining a pocket outside of said end wall, a frusto-conical supporting ring in said' pocket, a flaring sealing member of elastic material having a portion thereof overlapping a portion of said supporting ring, said sealing member having diverging sleeves for engaging said shaft and a portion oi' said sealing member abutting against the outer face of said end wall, said supporting ring and sealing sleeve being secured together, and means engaging said supporting ring to hold it in said pocket and to increase the sealing force of said sealing member against said end wall and said shaft.

5. 'I'he combination of a shaft, a housing having an end wall forming an opening between the bottom of said end wall and said shaft, an annular fiange`dening a pocket outside of said end wall, a double-wa11ed,vtrustoconical supporting ring with a recess between said walls in said pocket, a aring sealing sleeve of elastic material havinga portion engaging said shaft within the opening dened by. said end wall and a portion of said sealing sleeve extending into 

